New Glint App Lets Users Pay for Goods in Gold

London-based fintech Glint has launched a way for users to pay for goods and services in gold.

The company moved into public beta today, with a mobile app, accompanying Mastercard-powered debit card, and multi-currency app, which allows a user to store money in gold.

At the point-of-sale, that gold is turned back into fiat currency. Right now, the Glint app only supports gold and pounds sterling, but plans to add support for more currencies later.

Glint’s public beta is currently only available for iOS users, who, once they have completed “anti-money laundering checks,” according to a report on TechCrunch, can choose to leave their money in pounds or convert that money into gold.

When a user pays, they simply click which wallet to pay from (gold or another fiat currency, as soon as the app adds support), and the app will convert the funds in that moment.

What’s more, physical gold holdings are assigned to each user, and held in a London Bullion Market Association Accredited Brink’s vault, located in Switzerland.

While Glint’s aim is to create a new “global currency” based on gold, it remains to be seen whether users will want to actively pay in gold. It might be these physical gold holdings and not the fintech’s POS capabilities that draws users to the app.